It is very strange to be writing an article while the Royals not only hold onto a winning record, but they are World Series champions. Who of my faithful readers thought I would be writing an article like this? Even with all my faith in the team, even I didn't see it.
My interest in the team changed greatly with different events in my life. My dad and I did not see eye to eye on many topics, but we could totally agree on Royals baseball and would watch the team no matter had many times they lost. Even as I grew into adult age it was how we bonded. Then when he got really really ill he lost interest in the team even as they started to win games regularly. Without his interest in the team mine faded too, and when I lost him to cancer I lost my interest in the team no matter how well they played. Watching Royals baseball just made.me miss my dad.
I threw myself into the National League and rooted fully for the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. (How odd that those were the teams that played the Royals in both World Series Championships?) But I didn't back my local team like I used to.
I missed the players who used to be on the team. I missed watching Joakim Soria close games and really hated the management staff for letting him go when his injury was from being over-used to help the team win. I couldn't stand that they would sell off good players for cash instead of keeping them around and building the team around them.
But all of those things are now in the past. Now the Kansas City Royals are the best team in baseball. 2015 was their year, exactly 30 years from their last Championship in 1985.

I would love to see Bruce return to professional baseball. Years of perseverance and a dedication to success have been synonymous with the name Bruce Chen. No set-back held him back for an extended period of time. He would overcome. Everytime.
Injuries would take him down, surgeries would hold him back, but he always came back better than before. As long as he was in the starting pitcher's position he was set for success every time he took a start.
Bruce learned to pitch smart over trying to throw hard. He knew he was not going to beat a hitter with big radar gun numbers. He did it with knowing how to pitch. Each pitch he threw had a purpose and a place to go with his plan. He would hit his spots, he would work the counts, he would pitch to contact so that his defense could take over for him; & take over they did with Gold-Glove winning talent.
After Tommy John Surgery Bruce came back as the Royals most winning starting pitcher even in seasons that saw more losses than wins from the team performance. He came to each start hungry for a win and gave far more quality starts than shaky ones. Each year he ended the season with the most wins and lowest ERA on the team with consistency.
After a very strong performance with the Mets (and a start in the 1st post 9-11 tragedy professional sporting event). He bounced around from team to team with little success till he dropped out of baseball to have Tommy John's surgery and recover both mentally and physically so he could get back into the game of baseball. A minor league contact with Kansas City got him back to baseball and the rest became Kansas City history.
For now, he has not been announced to any team. He remains a free agent, but could change at any moment. Bruce Chen could easily sneak in as a 5th man on a rotation and find himself leading the Starting Pitcher Stats Board again in 2015.

What if the 2nd half of the 2010's were the years of Kansas City Domination? Wouldn't that be something to see? Time will tell, of course, but what a sight it would be to watch the Royals build on what they started in 2014.
I do not care what anyone says. 2014 was a surprise to everyone and was one of the beat stories for baseball, and the record books, that has been seen in a very long time, or ever.
No American League team has ever gone undefeated till the Championship Series. Even the National League had only seen that feat 2 times in baseball history. & those were not easy wins. They were playing some of the best teams in the game, and trams the Royals did not play well against during the regular season.
The Giants had to put up a historic effort to win over Kansas City, and they were only able to do it with the smallest of victory margins in a 7 game series.
For me, it was a World Series for the ages. Neither team looked to make the post season and both had to use the Wild-Card to make it in. The Giants never lost more than one game in any series through the play offs, and the Royals did not lose any. & for this fan of both teams, I loved every moment of that World Series.
What each team will find in 2015 will have to unfold this spring. The Giants have a huge hole to fill at 3rd base, and the Royals will need to keep that very impressive pitching staff together much like the Giants of 2010 had to do to remain successful.

The Royals have done something no American League team has done since 2002. They are forcing a game 6 in a World Series against San Francisco. No other team has lasted this long in the October Classic against them. This group of future Hall of Famers won their 1st World Series after moving West from New York in 2010 & have yet to look back. This time, Game 6 returns to Kansas City. The home town would love a new trophy to add to the Championship Case and it will take 2 victories to do it. (As they did in 1985). The visiting Giants will only have to win one time to seal up a 3rd Championship in 5 years. & they are used to winning the World Series on the road.
With both teams so evenly matched (and managed by the game's best). Who will come out on top is only a matter of time; and this lover of baseball is enjoying every last play in this World Series.

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